a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a re-usable container assembly for holding a variety of materials that is easy to manufacture, transport and assembly. The container of the present invention is particular suited to hold tissue paper. The tissue container of this invention has a unique configuration which enhances ease of assembly because the container is formed from a single foldable panel.
b) Description of Related Art
In an office, store, merchandising or any other environment, many different types of containers are abundantly used for collecting and storing promotional articles. Typically, known prior art container devices are of a totally rigid, noncollapsible construction and, importantly, few of the known devices are designed to be transported in a disassembled state for ease of portability, while providing a design which is easy to assemble on-site. A totally rigid construction makes the known devices expensive to manufacture as well as bulky, awkward and difficult to transport from one location to another. There therefore exists a need for an inexpensive container assembly which can be easily and conveniently employed in a wide variety of environments, both indoors and outdoors, which container assembly can be stored and shipped in a compact, flat package and can be easily and readily assembled and disassembled by a single non-skilled person without tools and without external fasteners or other components.
Several prior art containers having been proposed which are formed from a foldable, resilient member. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,269 to Sutton et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,022 to Tipps. These prior art devices however are awkward to assemble, overly expensive to manufacture, lack the stability necessary for a wide variety of applications, and are not suitable for use as a tissue holder.